Main Street News

Photo above by Vata Creative

For Anna Hall, the first inkling that she had an interest in food as a career came to her while she was working as a magazine writer. She was interviewing a chef and found that she could “talk to him all day about food.” 

The real turning point happened 15 years ago, however, when she attended a lecture about food sensitivities and hidden allergies. For many years, Anna had been grappling with a handful of symptoms that she didn’t think were related – migraines, rosacea, and achy joints being among them. The lecture that she attended inspired her to take gluten out of her diet and she noticed that within three days, she felt better. 

“I had thought to myself, ‘There’s all of these gluten-free options now. This is going to be so easy.’ But then I started reading the labels on many gluten-free foods and realized that so many brands are using these so-called gluten-free grains that are just made out of gums, starches, and sugars. I knew I could make something better than that,” she said. 

So, in 2012, Anna immediately got to work creating her gluten-free brand, Baker Island Foods. She attended the Kneading Conference in Maine, an annual conference for “grainiacs and bread buffs from all over the country” to gather and “educate one another about the science of growing and milling grains, baking artisan breads, and brewing delicious beer.” It was at this conference that Anna learned about heritage grains – also commonly referred to as ancient grains – which would later become a vital part of her business at Baker Island Foods. 

What’s so great about heritage grains? 

Heritage grains are non-hybridized, unaltered grains like teff, buckwheat, and oat, all of which are flavorful, nutritionally dense, and naturally gluten-free. Anna notes that heritage grains are not only better for our digestive systems, but they’re also better for the planet, too. Heritage grains are soil regenerative, add biodiversity to the soil, have deep root systems that hold the soil, extract more nutrition, and require less water. 

“I’m really fussy about the ingredients. I research every single ingredient in my products, and there’s no junk in them. You look at the label and you know exactly what you’re getting,” Anna said. “One of the goals of this company is to improve the quality of our soil. I want butter that comes from cows that are treated well, eggs from pastured hens, and chocolate that’s traceable. You can’t have a healthy planet if you don’t have healthy ingredients.” 

Knowing where her ingredients are coming from is also incredibly important to Anna. She sources some of her grains from Birkett Mills, a grain miller based in Central New York, her butter comes from Ronnybrook Farm in Pine Plains, NY, and she sources eggs from a handful of local farms. 

“There’s no preservatives or junk; these are products that I’m happy to eat myself and to feed my kids, friends, and family. There’s a lot that goes into this box. It all starts with the ingredients.” 

In the kitchen 

Anna had been planning on expanding the Baker Island Foods brand a year ago when she unexpectedly lost access to the commercial kitchen that she had been using. Growth and expansion subsequently got put on the back burner while she searched for a new location to make her products. Anna ended up finding a space to work out of in Philmont, which tided her over while she worked to renovate a former greenhouse on her property into a fully equipped commercial kitchen. 

“I spent the last year treading water, trying not to grow and just maintain what I had. I moved into the kitchen on my property and obtained my license in December, so now the plan for growth is back on track,” she mused. 

Currently in the repertoire, Baker Island Foods has three flavors of frozen cookie dough: triple chocolate chunk, classic chocolate chunk, and oatmeal chocolate. “It’s so easy. It comes as frozen cookie dough balls, so you just buy it and bake it from frozen.” Baker Island also has an apricot, ginger, and cardamom granola, made with oats, puffed millet, amaranth, and sorghum. 

While Baker Island Foods isn’t selling its frozen cookie dough through its website at the moment, you can find the dough on shelves across NY, CT, and MA. In New York, you can find Baker Island at Marona’s Market in Millbrook, Adam’s Fairacre Farms in Poughkeepsie, and Big Rock Market in Stanfordville. In Connecticut, Baker Island is in Walter Stewart’s Market in New Canaan, Palmer’s Market in Darien, and LaBonne’s Market in Salisbury. In Massachusetts, you can find Baker Island in Guido’s Fresh Market in Great Barrington and Pittsfield.

Baker Island Foods will be expanding its stockists in the coming months, and Anna is often hosting pop-ups and other events at locations across the tri-state area. Previously, Baker Island has made appearances at Tenmile Distillery in Wassaic, NY, and Taste of NY at Todd Hill off of the Taconic State Parkway in LaGrangeville, NY. Baker Island Foods will also be at TaSH Market in Tarrytown this winter and at John Jay Farm Market in Katonah this summer. 

Making Baker Island a national brand 

The biggest part of Anna’s mission is “heritage grains for all” – providing products that are both better for the environment and better for our stomachs. Going forward, that means making Baker Island Foods a national brand. “I want to expose as many people as possible to heritage grains. I want Baker Island to be known for making really great, heritage grain-based products that are also delicious.” 

For Anna, the most rewarding part of her work is the feedback that she receives from customers. “I think it’s two-fold. I love feeding people and giving them access to a high-end, quality product that is also tasty. I’ve had people email me and thank me for creating this product, and that’s the most rewarding part: the positive feedback and deep appreciation for the products that I’m making.” 

“A food can be healthy and environmentally-friendly, but that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t taste good,” she continued. “I hope that I deliver big time on that. The add-ons are that they’re great products made with great ingredients. A win-win.” 

To learn more about Baker Island Foods, visit their website bakerislandfoods.com and keep up with them on Instagram @bakerislandfoods.